Virtual Press Room

Press Conference

A PRESS CONFERENCE presenting four important studies from the AAPM Annual Meeting will be held on Tuesday, July 22, 11 a.m. ET (10 a.m. CT), in Room 15, Level 4 of the Austin Convention Center.

The press conference will include research on:

Radiotherapy for Cardiovascular Disease: New research shows that radiation therapy may offer an alternative treatment for hypertension and atrial fibrillation.

From Medical Images to Genomics: A study of more than 300 cancer patients utilized information hidden within imaging tests to more accurately identify the radiation dose needed to kill a tumor.

Data Mining for Improved Cancer Treatment: Medical physicists will present research on their use of data mining of more than 500 head and neck cancer cases to improve outcomes and decrease side effects.

For more information on the press conference, including teleconferencing details for those unable to attend in person, please contact: Ashley Moses at 312-558-1770 or amoses@pcipr.com.

Hot Topics

The 56th AAPM Annual Meeting features cutting edge research across the field of medical physics science. Six HOT TOPICS from the Scientific Program are summarized below.

The Physics of Cancer

The Science Council Session at this year’s AAPM Annual Meeting focuses on “The Physics of Cancer,” emphasizing fundamental science in understanding how cancer originates, its progression, and its response to treatment. Among the presentations is work by Dr. Robert Jeraj and colleagues at the University of Wisconsin on anti-angiogenic therapy. This emerging form of cancer treatment works by stopping tumors from making new blood vessels, and new research suggests that molecular imaging can be used to help doctors make more informed decisions about its use. Understanding how tumors respond to anti-angiogenic therapies is key to improving a patient’s treatment efficacy. Dr. Jeraj is using molecular imaging, such as FLT PET/CT, to better understand how anti-angiogenic therapies will stop or slow rapid tumor growth.

Radiomics: Medical Imaging Meets Genomics in the Fight Against Cancer

Characteristics of tumors that can remain hidden in medical images are being tested for the ability to predict risk, prognosis and response to cancer therapy. This approach is part of a powerful emerging field in medical physics called radiomics, which seeks to extract statistical information from images to make better treatment decisions. Radiomics research also helps determine how information from medical images can be combined with genomic information from individual patients to improve outcomes. A special session on Monday presents the fundamentals and latest advances in combining quantitative imaging and genomics in the practice of medical physics.

Patient Safety in Radiotherapy

Radiation therapy is one of the most complex areas of healthcare and, as such, the delivery of safe, high-quality treatments can be challenging. To address this issue, the AAPM and ASTRO are launching the National Radiation Oncology Incident Learning System, RO-ILS, a platform allowing providers to share information about safety which is critical in this type of environment. An invited symposium on Thursday, July 24, presents the recently launched RO-ILS platform and the implications for improved quality and safety in radiation therapy.

Advances in CT Imaging, Dose Reduction, and Image Quality

This year marks the 25th anniversary of spiral CT, and ongoing advances in scanner technology, mathematical algorithms, and high-speed computing are converging in a way to advance CT performance while minimizing radiation dose. Advances include: the use of previous CT scans of the same patient to improve quality and reduce subsequent scans; the use of mathematical algorithms to decrease image noise; the use of image-guided surgery to improve surgical guidance and reduce dose; and measuring and modeling image quality to identify dose limits in a manner consistent with the imaging task. In an invited symposium on Monday, July 21, experts from the University of Wisconsin, University of Chicago, Johns Hopkins University, and Duke University present the latest research in these rapidly advancing areas of CT image quality.

MRI Guidance for Radiation Oncology

Radiation therapy is benefiting from recent research aimed at integrating MRI into radiotherapy planning and guidance. Recent years have seen the rapid adoption of dedicated MRI systems as simulators that give better visualization of the tumor and surrounding healthy tissue. By bringing MRI directly into the treatment room, new systems offer the potential to guide high-precision radiotherapy by virtue of such improved imaging capability. A special symposium on Tuesday, July 22, features the latest research on bringing MRI into the process of radiotherapy planning, guidance and evaluation of treatment response.

MRI in the Treatment Room
Nine oral presentations.
Topics include: integration of MR scanner and linear accelerator, tumor tracking, physics and engineering of MRI in the treatment room, and MRI guidance of brachytherapy.

Improving the Effectiveness of Proton Therapy

A special symposium on Wednesday presents research that is uncovering ways to improve cancer treatment using proton therapy. Proton therapy is already known to be 10 percent more effective than traditional photon radiation therapy by delivering radiation more accurately to the tumor and avoiding healthy tissues. Dr. Harald Paganetti and colleagues at the Massachusetts General Hospital used computer simulations of proton therapy to better understand the reason for treatment failure and side effects by more accurately calculating how protons deposit energy in tissue. Dr. Robert Stewart of the University of Washington will present how biological models can be used to improve understanding of tumor response in proton therapy, and Dr. A. Carabe-Fernandez of the University of Pennsylvania will present new research in biologically-optimized proton therapy.

Featured Interviews

AAPM: The Impact of Imaging in Medical Physics

AAPM President John E. Bayouth, Ph.D., discusses the impact of imaging in medical physics, as well as training that is available through AAPM, with Imaging Technology News Editorial Director Melinda Taschetta-Millane.